Chapter XVII: English Navigators in South America, Hawkins, Drake, and Raleigh

1564-1618.

We are all familiar with the names of certain English navigators with reference to Spanish South America; but it is somewhat difficult to introduce a notice of their deeds at the precise date when they occurred, without interrupting the course of the general narrative. Neither do their actions belong especially to any ocean or country. They appeared sometimes on the Atlantic and at others on the Pacific; sometimes on the Isthmus of _Darien_, at others on the coast of _Peru_. They plundered the enemy wherever they found him vulnerable, and treated the inhabitants of one side of the continent and of the other with perfect impartiality. I have therefore thought it better to gather together in one chapter some short records of the deeds of certain amongst the most famous of these free-lances of the ocean.

Foremost amongst the English navigators to Spanish American waters comes the redoubtable Hawkins. That he was an admirable seaman and a most courageous man, no one will question. He was likewise as patriotic as it was possible for man to be, and was most considerate and fair towards those under his command, by whom he seems to have been respected and beloved. But it may help to form a more correct opinion of the age in which he lived, and may serve somewhat to modify our judgment respecting the Spaniards and Portuguese of the sixteenth century in the matter of slavery, if we remember that Sir John Hawkins, of whom most Englishmen are to a certain extent proud, was, in plain terms, an atrocious slave-dealer. This article was, in fact, the staple commodity in which he trafficked, and he pursued his course to the coast of Africa, there to capture his cargo of negroes, with not a whit more concern for them or their rights than would have been displayed by Rob Roy or by Roderick Dhu for the cattle which they carried off from the Lowlands. It may be well also to bear in mind that his course of life was well known to Queen Elizabeth and Her Ministers, and that Her Majesty, in token of Her approval of his proceedings, placed at his disposal one of Her vessels, the “Jesus” of Lubeck, of 700 tons.

As this work is not intended to throw light on the African slave-trade further than in as far as it concerns South America, it is not necessary to follow Sir John throughout all his nefarious proceedings on the coast of Africa. But one of his voyages, in the course of which he proceeded with his usual cargo, in the year 1564, to _Cape de la Vala_, has for us unusual interest, inasmuch as in the course of its narrative we find the first mention, among English writers, of the potato. It is well known that Raleigh and certain of his companions, at a much later date, brought home with them that root from _Virginia_. It is the case likewise, that, some time before this voyage of Raleigh, Drake had introduced the same plant to these islands; but that our first acquaintance with the potato is due to Hawkins and his expedition of the above-mentioned year will appear from the following extract:--

“Here perceiving no trafficke to be had with them, nor yet water for the refreshing of our men, we were driven to depart the twentieth day, and the 2 and twentieth we came to a place in the maine called _Cumana_, whither the captaine going in his pinnisse, spake with certaine Spaniards of whom he demanded trafficke, but they made him answere, they were but souldiers newely come thither, and were not able to by on negro; whereupon hee asked for a watring place, and they pointed him a place two leagues off, called _Santa Fè_, where we found marvellous goodly watring, and commodious for the taking in thereof; for that the fresh water came into the sea, and so our shippes had aboord the shore twentie fathome water. Neere about this place inhabited certaine Indians, who the next day after we came thither came down to us, presenting mill and cakes of breade, which they had made of a kinde of corne called maiz, in bignesse of a pease, the eare whereof is much like to a teasell, but a spanne in length having thereon a number of granes. Also they brought down to us Hennes, Potatoes and Pines, which we bought for beades, pewter whistles, glasses, knives and other trifles. These potatoes be the most delicate rootes that may be eaten, and doe farre exceed our passeneps or carets.”[S]

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Hawkins and his men kept on their course along the coast, and came on the 3rd of April to a place called _Burboroata_, where the ships came to anchor, and he himself went on shore to speak to the Spaniards, to whom he declared his nationality, and that he came thither for lawful trade, for which he required permission. They made answer that they were forbidden by their king to traffic with any foreign nation, upon pain of forfeiting their goods; they therefore desired him to depart, for they were subjects, and might not go beyond the law. Hawkins, however, who was an impersonation of the _Civis Romanus sum_, was above the law. He replied that his necessity was such as he might not so do; for being in one of the Queen’s _armadas_ of England, and having many soldiers in them, he had need both of some refreshing for them, and of victuals, and of money also, without which he could not depart. With much other talk he persuaded them not to fear any dishonest part of his towards them; for neither would he commit any such thing to the dishonour of his prince, nor yet for dishonest reputation and estimation, unless he were too rigorously dealt withal, which he hoped not to find at their hands.

The Spaniards made answer that it lay not in them to give any licence, for that they had a governor to whom the government of these parts was committed; but if Hawkins would stay ten days longer they would send to their governor, who was three score leagues off, and would return answer within the appointed time.

Meanwhile Hawkins was permitted to bring his ships into harbour and to receive the victuals he required. On the fourth day he went in and received according to promise all things requisite; whereupon the shrewd captain thought to himself that to remain according to his promise for the stipulated ten days, spending victuals and men’s wages, would be a mere act of folly. He therefore requested permission to sell certain lean and sick negroes which he had in his ships, like to die upon his hands if he kept them ten days. He was forced to make this request, because he had not otherwise wherewith to pay for victuals and for necessaries. This request being put in writing and presented, the officers and town-dwellers assembled together; and, finding his request so reasonable, granted him licence for thirty negroes, which afterwards they caused the officers to view, to the intent they should accede to nothing but what was reasonable, for fear of afterwards being called to answer therefor.

But the Spaniards were as much on their guard as was Hawkins, and he found but little demand for his negro wares, since the authorities had decided that none but the poor should be permitted to bid for them. It was a question of bargaining, and Hawkins made pretence of being about to depart, carrying his goods elsewhere. He answered that he not only required permission to sell, but likewise his fair profit; and he thought it due to his character to show by his papers what he had paid for his negroes, and likewise what all the charges of the trade he was engaged in had cost him. As they did not wish for his departure they encouraged him to remain, by telling him that he would get a better price there than anywhere else. He therefore consented to remain, in order that he might dispose of his lean negroes. He disposed of a few next day, but could do nothing more until the arrival of the governor a fortnight later.

Hawkins addressed to the governor a petition asking to be allowed to sell his negroes, which permission was granted him. But perceiving that the Spaniards would neither consent to pay anything like the price he demanded, nor consent to relinquish the king’s custom duty of thirty _ducats_ on each slave, he determined to take more decisive measures. Accordingly on the 16th of April he prepared one hundred men well armed, with whom he marched against the town. On this demonstration, the governor not unnaturally sent messengers to inquire what it meant, and requiring him to halt until he should have received his answer. The captain, declaring how unreasonable a thing the king’s custom was, requested to have the same abated, offering to pay seven and a half per cent. The governor replied that his demand should be granted. Hostages being given, the invaders then departed to their ships, and carried on their traffic for twelve days without disturbance, when Hawkins again made a show of departing, in order to obtain higher prices.

On the 4th of May he actually departed, and on the 6th reached the island of _Curaçao_, where the ships found great refreshment in beef, mutton, and lambs, which were in such plenty that they were given gratis. The cattle in this island is reported to have increased in such prodigious ratio that of a dozen of each sort originally imported there were to be found in twenty-five years a hundred thousand at least. Fifteen hundred were yearly killed, for the sake only of their skins and tongues.

On the fifteenth of the month they left _Curaçao_, and on the seventeenth anchored near _Cape de la Vela_, and next proceeded to the _Rio de la Hacha_, where Hawkins had again recourse to threats before being permitted to traffic. As they would not accede to his price, however, he shot off a calverin to summon the town, and preparing one hundred men in armour, went on shore, having in his great boat two falcons of brass, the other boats being likewise armed. The townsmen turned out to resist the invasion; but although they were superior in numbers, they soon gave way and sent a flag of truce. A colloquy now occurred between Hawkins and the treasurer, with the result that the former obtained all his requests, receiving hostages for their fulfilment. After some further passages of distrust, the English departed in a friendly manner, their captain receiving at the treasurer’s hands a testimonial of his good behaviour. Hawkins then proceeded to _Jamaica_, and thence by _Cuba_ and _Florida_ for England.

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The first acquaintance of Drake with Spanish America was made in the course of a voyage to the West Indies and the Caribbean Sea in the years 1565 and 1566. But the voyage which caused his name first to be placed on record was that in which he accompanied Hawkins in the year 1567. The expedition consisted of six ships, one of them being lent by Queen Elizabeth in token of her approbation of the objects of the voyage. The “Jesus” of Lubeck, a vessel of 700 tons, bore the flag of Hawkins. Two other vessels were commanded respectively by Hampton and by Bolton; whilst the “Judith” was commanded by Captain Francis Drake, he being then a young man of about twenty-seven. There were in addition two very small vessels, the “Angel” and the “Swallow.”

[Sidenote: 1567.]

Sailing from Plymouth on the 2nd of October 1567, they reached the _Cape de Verde_ islands, after having encountered a terrible storm. Here the admiral landed a hundred and fifty of his men, with the object of procuring a supply of negroes; but in this quest these worthies were disappointed, since they obtained but few, and these with much hurt and damage, for they had to stand a flight of poisoned arrows. Their wounds appeared in the beginning “but small hurts,[T] yet there hardly escaped any that had blood drawn of them, but died in strange sort, with their mouthes shutte some tenne dayes before they died, and after their wounds were whole; when I myself,” says Hawkins, “had one of the greatest wounds, yet, thanks be to God, escaped.” These men, it appears died of lockjaw; and considering the cause in which they received their wounds, few will be inclined to pity their fate.

At _St. Jorge da Mina_ a negro king came to ask the assistance of Hawkins against a neighbouring king, promising him all the negroes that should be taken. An offer so tempting was not to be rejected, and one hundred and fifty men were selected and sent to assist this black tyrant. They assaulted a town containing some eight thousand inhabitants, strongly paled round, and fenced after their manner, and so well defended that in the assault Hawkins’s people had six slain and forty wounded. More help was called for; “whereupon,” says Hawkins, “considering that the good success of this enterprise might highly further the commodity of our voyage, I went myself; and with the help of the king of our side, assaulted the town both by land and sea; and very hardly with fire (their houses being covered with palm leaves) obtained the town and put the inhabitants to flight; where we took two hundred and fifty persons, men, women, and children; and by our friend the king on our side, there were taken six hundred prisoners, whereof we hoped to have our choice; but the negro (in which nation is never or seldom found truth) meant nothing less; for that night he removed his camp and prisoners, so that we were fain to content us with those few that we had gotten ourselves.”[U]

On the coast of _Guinea_ they had succeeded in procuring about two hundred more slaves, with which cargo they departed for the West Indies, there to dispose of them to the Spaniards. On the 27th of March they came into sight of _Dominica_, and coasted _Marguerita_ and _Cape de la Vela_, carrying on meanwhile, without obstruction, “a tolerable good trade,”--that is to say, parting with their negroes for good terms. At _Rio de la Hacha_, all dealings with the inhabitants being prohibited, the worthy and law-abiding Hawkins was affronted by what he considered an infraction of the treaty between Henry VIII. and Charles V. He determined to chastise the authors of this illegal proceeding, and accordingly attacked the place. Having landed two hundred men, the town was taken by storm, with the loss of only two, the Spaniards having fled after the first volley. After this adventure, trade was connived at, if not permitted. The Spaniards bought two hundred negroes; “and at all other places where we traded the inhabitants were glad of us and traded willingly.”[V]

In proceeding towards _Cartagena_ they were caught in a terrible storm, which so shattered the “Jesus,” that, her rudder being broken, she sprang a leak, and being driven into the bay of _Mexico_, entered the port of _San Juan d’Ulloa_. The disaster which befell Hawkins and his consorts at this place need not here be recorded, since they do not appertain to South American history.

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[Sidenote: 1572.]

On the 24th of May, 1572, Captain Drake sailed from Plymouth in the “Pascha,” of seventy tons, accompanied by his brother John Drake in the “Swanne,” of twenty-five tons, having in all seventy-three men and boys, of whom the oldest man was fifty, all the rest being under thirty. All were volunteers, and the vessels were fitted out as men-of-war. Their destination was _Nombre de Dios_. On the 2nd of July they sighted _Santa Martha_, and landed at _Port Pheasant_, where they found a plate of lead, on which John Garret, an English seaman who had been left here, warned Drake to make haste away, as the place had been betrayed. Drake, however, thought this a convenient spot on which to build his pinnaces, which he had brought with him in frames from England, and which were now completed in seven days.

On the following day he was joined by an English barque of the Isle of Wight, which brought in a captured Spanish _caravel_. The English captain, Rowse, understanding Drake’s purpose of attacking _Nombre de Dios_, agreed to act in concert with him. Leaving the three ships and the _caravel_ in charge of Rowse, Drake, taking with him fifty-three men, proceeded in four pinnaces and a shallop to the Isles of _Pinos_, which he reached on the 22nd of July, and where he made an alliance with some runaway Indians who had fled from their Spanish masters and were called _Symerons_. Proceeding silently by night, he came before _Nombre de Dios_, where he landed without opposition. He and his men boldly attacked the place, but in the course of a desperate struggle which occurred on the town being alarmed, Drake was dangerously wounded, and had to be conveyed on board ship.

It gives a very strange idea of the state of things then existing between England and Spain when we read that immediately after this unprovoked attack by Drake on _Nombre de Dios_, that captain was visited by a _Hidalgo_, who protested that the object of his coming was to see and admire one who had shown such courage. No doubt this gentleman had other objects in view; but it is somewhat remarkable that he should have trusted his person in a pirate’s den; for it must be remembered that, as England was not then at war with Spain, Drake can only be described as a buccaneer. This _Hidalgo_ was, however, very courteously received, and departed protesting that he had never been honoured so much in his life.

The pinnaces now returned to the Isle of _Pinos_, where Drake parted company with Captain Rowse. He next despatched his brother to examine the river _Chagre_, and on his return he departed for _Cartagena_, where he took two Spanish ships. His next enterprise was against a great ship of Seville, which he obtained possession of by fighting. The town being alarmed, Drake determined to burn one of his ships, in order that he might have the means of manning his pinnaces. He then proceeded to the Sound of _Darien_, where they cleared a space of ground to build houses. Drake then went with his brother, with two pinnaces, to the _Rio Grande_, passing out of sight of _Cartagena_, between which place and _Tolon_ they took six frigates laden with provisions. Three days later they arrived at _Pinos_. On the third of November Drake fell in with a Spanish ship, which he captured.

But now Drake’s company were visited by heavy sickness, which was attributed to the cold which the men suffered from whilst in the pinnaces. On returning to the ships on the 27th of November, they learned of the death of John Drake and of Richard Allen, who were slain whilst attempting to board a frigate. On the 3rd of January six of the company fell sick and died within two or three days, whilst as many as thirty were stricken down with fever. Joseph Drake, another of the captain’s brothers, died, and likewise the surgeon.

Drake now determined to proceed by land to _Panamá_, having by the 3rd of February lost twenty-eight of his men. He took with him forty-eight, eighteen being English and the rest _Symerons_, and in a few days reached _Venta Cruz_. The chief of these people dwelt sixteen leagues south-east of _Panamá_, and Drake now thought that he might with advantage waylay a party carrying treasure across the isthmus. But, owing to the awkwardness of one of his people, he and they were discovered. He nevertheless attacked the party, and pursued them as far as _Venta Cruz_.

On his journey thither Drake was informed of a certain tree, from the top of which he might discern a branch of the Atlantic Ocean on the one hand and of the Pacific on the other. One of the _Symerons_ desired him to ascend “that goodlie and great high tree,” in the trunk of which notches were cut in order to facilitate the ascent. From the top of this tree, the English mariner, viewing the distant Pacific, solemnly besought God to give him life and leave once to sail an English ship in those seas.

Returning to _Venta Cruz_, which he took and rifled, he intercepted a convoy of fifty mules, bearing a large quantity of silver, of which he appropriated what he could carry. With some difficulty he rejoined his pinnaces, when he resolved to return to _England_. He reached Plymouth on Sunday the 9th of August 1573, whilst divine service was being conducted. The church was forthwith deserted, all rushing out to welcome the gallant captain, who had been absent one year and two months.

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[Sidenote: 1575.]

In the course of the five years during which Drake reposed upon his laurels, before undertaking his voyage round the world, John Oxenham, who had been one of his companions in his late expedition, set out in a vessel of one hundred and forty tons’ burden, with twenty seamen, for the Isthmus of _Darien_. Having learnt at _Porto Bello_ that a convoy of muleteers was expected from _Panamá_, he marched to meet them, proceeding over the mountains to a small river which falls into the Southern Sea. Building a pinnace, he then dropped down into the Bay of _Panamá_ and proceeded to the _Pearl Islands_, where he took possession of a small barque from the port of _Quito_ (probably _Guayaquil_), in which he found sixty pounds’ weight of gold. Six days later he was still further enriched by the plunder of a barque from _Lima_, bearing a hundred pounds’ weight of silver in bars.

Unfortunately for the daring Oxenham, he was not contented with silver and gold, but delayed on the island for fifteen days in search of pearls. During this time, as he might have foreseen, intelligence of his presence reached the Spaniards; and Captain Ortega was despatched with four barques in search of him. The Spaniard learned that Oxenham had gone up the river, and astutely traced his course by the quantity of fowls’ feathers floating down the stream. After four days’ pursuit, Oxenham’s pinnace was descried; but the Englishmen, all save six, had left her, taking the treasure with them. The treasure, however, was soon afterwards discovered, and with this Ortega was about to depart, when Oxenham came down upon him with about two hundred _Symerons_. The Spaniards, who were eighty in number, had the better of the fight, killing eleven of the English, together with some Indians, with very slight loss on their own side.

Oxenham now endeavoured to make the best of his way to his ship; but information of its presence had been sent to _Nombre de Dios_, and his vessel had been carried a prize to that port. Meanwhile a party of a hundred and fifty men were scouring the mountains in search of the English. On their being found, some were made prisoners and others fled; but in the end all were conveyed to _Panamá_, where the fearless rover, not being able to produce any power or commission from the Queen, was sentenced, as were his companions, to suffer the death of a pirate. All of the party were then executed, with the exception of Oxenham, his master, his pilot, and five boys, who were sent to _Lima_. There the boys were pardoned, but the three men suffered the fate to which they had been condemned.

[Sidenote: 1577.]

To return to Drake: that famous captain set out from Plymouth in a squadron, manned by one hundred and sixty-three seamen, on the 13th of September 1577, and sailed to the coast of _Barbary_ for refreshments. He commenced his depredations by seizing three Spanish fishing-boats; he likewise captured three _caravels_. From _Cape Blanco_ he proceeded to the _Cape de Verdes_, and thence stood for the Island of _St. Iago_, where he captured a Portuguese ship. Near the equator his vessels were becalmed for three weeks, and for fifty-five days Drake saw no land before arriving on the coast of _Brazil_.

The expedition touched in the river _Plate_, but merely remained a short time, when it proceeded to the southward, and anchored in a bay in forty-seven degrees S. latitude. Two of his ships were now missing, but one of them was here found by a vessel sent in search of them. In these parts our countrymen first became acquainted with the race who derive the name by which they are known to us from the height of _Pentagones_, or five cubits, equal to seven and a half feet, with which Magellan credited them. Mr. Fletcher, who accompanied Drake, states that these people were of large stature, but he does not ascribe to them gigantic proportions. At a later period, Commodore Byron described one of these Patagonians as a frightful colossus of not less than seven feet. He was no doubt an exception. They are in fact a tall race, but not more so than well-grown Englishmen. Writing only the other day, Lady Florence Dixie states that a tall Patagonian was of precisely the same height as her husband, namely, six feet two inches, and there is no reason to suppose that the race has physically degenerated since Magellan’s time.

[Sidenote: 1578.]

On the 20th of June Drake’s whole force anchored in _Fort St. Julian_, where two of his men were shot by the natives. One of the objects which attracted attention was a gibbet which had been set up by Magellan seventy years before. At this place Mr. John Doughty was put on his trial for conspiring to raise a mutiny in the fleet, and, being found guilty by a jury, was condemned to be beheaded. The fleet was now reduced to the “Pelican,” which name was soon changed to the “Golden Hind,” the “Elizabeth,” and the “Marigold,” with which on the 20th of August Drake arrived at the entrance of the _Straits of Magellan_. On one side he observed an island “burning aloft in the air in a wonderful sort without intermission.”

On the 6th of September, having passed the strait, Drake entered the Pacific, which term must have seemed to him rather a misnomer, since he found it rough and turbulent above measure, a tempest carrying his ships a hundred leagues to the westward and separating them. It may be observed that this was the second occasion on which the _Straits of Magellan_ had been passed. Near the western outlet, Drake landed on an island which he named after Queen Elizabeth.

It was now the mariner’s intention to proceed northwards into a warm climate; but a terrific tempest carried the ships southward of _Cape Horn_, thus giving to Drake the distinction of being the first European to view the union of the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. _Cape Horn_ had, it is said, been sighted by the Spanish Commodore Lope de Loyaya in 1525, and was doubled by Le Maire and Schouten in 1646, the latter bestowing upon it the name of _Hoorn_, his native place in Holland.[W] On endeavouring to regain their way northwards, the “Marigold” was lost with all hands, whilst the “Golden Hind” and the “Elizabeth” were separated, the latter vessel, on re-entering the strait, giving up the voyage “by Captain Winter’s compulsion, full sore against the mariners’ minds.”

Drake’s ship being now left alone with the little pinnace, was again driven back into the latitude of 55° south, in which the captain anchored among some islands. After two days, however, they were driven from their anchorage, when the pinnace lost sight of the ship. By good fortune the former re-entered the _Straits of Magellan_, and her crew of eight men proceeded to _Port St. Julian_, and thence to the _Plata_. Of the eight men, four were captured by Indians, two wounded men died, and the remaining two stayed on a small island for two months, subsisting on crabs, eels, and fruit, but without water. They at length succeeded in reaching the mainland, when one of the two survivors died from the effects of drinking too much of the stream.[X]

Meanwhile Drake, in the “Golden Hind,” proceeded towards the north-west. He fell in with two islands, where he laid in a supply of fowls, and then continued his course to the island of _Macho_, inhabited by Indians, by whom some of his men were attacked and slain. Drake himself was hit in the face by an arrow, and he likewise received another wound in the head. On the 13th of November he captured an Indian in a bay called _St. Philip_, whom he treated with kindness, and dismissed to rejoin his countrymen, who brought fowls, eggs, and a hog to the boat. An Indian chief now joined Drake’s vessel, and conducted it to _Valparaiso_, where he met with such stores as he needed, and parted with his Indian pilot.

On the 19th of December the “Golden Hind” entered a bay near a town called _Cyppo_, where three hundred Spaniards and Indians came down to the shore, one of Drake’s men being slain. The navigator now proceeded to the north, where a pinnace was set up in a convenient spot, in order that search might be made in the creeks for intelligence of the missing ships.

The next place landed at was _Tarapaca_, in about 20° S. latitude, where a Spaniard was found asleep, with a bundle of thirteen silver bars at his side, valued at four thousand _ducats_. The sleeper himself remained uninjured otherwise than by his loss. In another place eight _llamas_ were taken, laden with one hundred pounds’ weight of silver. Still further on Drake reached a town where the Spaniards agreed to traffic with him. On the 7th of February he arrived before _Arica_, where he took some barques carrying much silver. On the 15th he reached _Callao_, the port of _Lima_, which harbour he entered without resistance, although thirty vessels were gathered within it. Of these he plundered seventeen, which were laden. The vessels had no one on board, as the visit of an enemy was the last event which was expected. In one of these ships alone were found fifteen hundred bars of silver, whilst another contained a large chest of coined money.

Drake took the precaution of cutting the cables of these vessels before he set out in pursuit of a ship laden with gold and silver, which had on the eve of his arrival departed for _Panamá_. As he was on his way he fell in with a brigantine, from which he helped himself to eighty pounds’ weight of gold, together with other treasures. At length he came in sight of the “_Cacafuego_,” about one hundred and fifty leagues from _Panamá_, when she was boarded and easily captured. From her Drake obtained pearls and precious stones, together with eighty pounds’ weight of gold and thirteen chests of silver. It was estimated that the “Golden Hind” now carried a treasure of ninety thousand pounds. The “_Cacafuego_” was permitted to go on her way, Drake’s object being plunder and not wanton destruction.

He had good reason to avoid _Panamá_, so he stood to the westward, where he fell in with another ship, the pilot of which he retained for his own service. It is not within the plan of this work to follow the adventurous navigator to _North America_ or on his further course over the globe, on completing which he reached Plymouth on the 26th of September 1580, having been absent two years, ten months, and some odd days, during which time he had, in the expressive language of an old writer, “ploughed up a furrow round the world.” It may be permitted, however, to mention one or two points, as throwing light upon the very singular history of the relations between Spain and England at that period, and as therefore illustrating the position in which the Spanish possessions in South America were placed.

The arrival of Drake at Plymouth was hailed, as on a former occasion, with the most warm welcome, the mayor and corporation receiving him, and the bells of St. Andrew’s Church ringing a continuous peal during the day, whilst the gentlemen of the neighbourhood vied with the burghers to do him honour. But all was not quite clear on Drake’s horizon. That he had committed acts against Spain which could only be justified by his country being at war with that power was abundantly clear. Drake was therefore in one of two positions. Either he was an officer bearing letters of marque, or other authority, from Queen Elizabeth, which entitled him to commit the acts which he had committed, in which case Elizabeth was at war with Spain; or he had committed these unquestioned acts of piracy on his own account, in which case he was liable to punishment, and the Spaniards whom he had plundered were entitled to demand restitution of the losses they had sustained through his acts.

Queen Elizabeth and her Ministers took five months to decide this point, in which they were so deeply interested and on which so much depended. During this time Drake remained in semi-disgrace, since no ray of court favour fell upon him. It may readily be imagined with what doubts the Queen was at this time perplexed. That she heartily approved of the deeds of Drake, and that she gloried in him as a gallant navigator, no one would for a moment question; but, on the other hand, there was the supposed colossal power of Spain, backed by the Church,--so soon to be shivered against the force of England, but a contest with which was not lightly to be entered upon.

Fortunately for the human race, Queen Elizabeth and her counsellors determined to take upon themselves the responsibility of avowing the acts of Drake, who, whilst the issues of the question concerning him were being discussed, received the complimentary appellation of “the master thiefe of the unknowne world,” which it must be admitted he fully deserved. It may be interesting to state that the immediate pecuniary results of this voyage to Drake himself, and to his partners and fellow-adventurers, after all charges had been paid, was four thousand seven hundred per cent. He was likewise knighted and promoted to the rank of admiral, whilst in the “Golden Hind” he was visited by the Queen.

Drake’s next voyage to the westward, undertaken in 1585, and to which a tinge of romance is given from the connection with it of Sir Philip Sidney, has so little bearing on South America that it need not occupy our time. Nor is this the place to state the part which the gallant seaman played in the defeat of the Spanish _Armada_. But one more line must be written to conclude the story of Hawkins and of Drake with reference to the colonies of Spain.

[Sidenote: 1593.]

The power of England had been so clearly pointed out to be upon the waves, that her rulers, anxious to pursue their advantage, determined to employ her two most valiant and renowned sea-captains for working the yet further detriment of Spain. Accordingly, in the year 1593, the Queen gave notice that she intended to place a fleet under Sir Francis Drake, to whom in the following year was associated his old patron, Hawkins.

Sir John Hawkins was now an admiral, between seventy-five and eighty years of age; and as he was, moreover, wealthy, he showed more zeal than discretion in venturing once more upon the climate of the West Indies. Even ten years before this period the veteran had given proof that he was no longer the man he had been. Together with Frobisher, he had held command of ten of the Queen’s ships to scour the coasts of Spain; but at the end of seven months they had returned without having taken a single vessel and without having effected anything. The Queen was naturally indignant at such waste of force and of time, and Hawkins deemed it necessary to excuse himself. The old slave-dealer had been always very pious, and on this occasion he deemed it fitting to remind her Majesty that Paul planteth and Apollos watereth, but that God giveth the increase. This quotation from Scripture was, under the circumstances, a little out of place. Elizabeth’s comment upon it was, “God’s death! This fool went out a soldier and is come home a divine.”

The squadron which the Queen had ordered to proceed to South America under the joint command of the two admirals, sailed from Plymouth on the 28th of August 1595. But it was doomed to disaster throughout its course. One vessel, the “Francis,” was taken by the Spaniards; and whilst preparing to pass through the _Virgin Islands_, Hawkins became extremely sick, and soon breathed his last. At _Puerto Rico_ a great shot struck the mizen-mast of Drake’s ship, whilst another shot knocked the stool on which he was seated from under him. Every preparation had been made for the defence of the harbour and town; but, in spite of a heavy fire, the English persisted in their desperate attempts, until they had lost some forty or fifty killed and as many wounded. They were, however, eventually compelled to retire, after having inflicted very severe losses on the enemy.

Drake now proceeded to the _Caribbean_ shore and took the town of _La Hacha_, the inhabitants of which ransomed themselves for thirty thousand _ducats_. _Rancheria_ and _Rio de La Hacha_ were burnt down to the ground, as was likewise _Santa Martha_, after which operations Drake proceeded to _Nombre de Dios_, which was soon taken and destroyed, together with all the frigates and barques in the harbour.

It was now decided that an attempt should be made on _Panamá_, and for this purpose seven hundred and fifty soldiers were selected to march over the isthmus. “The march was so sore,” says Hakluyt, “as never Englishmen marched before;” and in the end it was deemed best, after the loss of between eighty and ninety men, to make their way back to the fleet.

[Sidenote: 1596.]

On the 15th of January, Sir Francis Drake began to keep his cabin; and on the 28th of that month, at four o’clock in the morning, he departed this life. His body was conveyed to _Puerto Bello_, where it was solemnly committed to the deep.

* * * * *

The third of the three great men who may be said to have created between them England’s position as Mistress of the Waves, and to have given the English navy the character which it bears, is Sir Walter Raleigh. Hawkins represents the old English unthinking, unreasoning, loyal, slave-hunting, religious skipper. Drake, in turn, represented a much higher phase of English sea-life. It is true that in his early days he commanded a vessel in one of Hawkins’ slave-hunting expeditions; but, to his great credit, he seems to have been so disgusted on this occasion, that he never afterwards soiled his hands by dealing in this unholy and abominable traffic. He was a corsair, but at the same time a conscientious man. At _San Juan d’Ulloa_ and elsewhere he and his companions had suffered grievous wrongs and treachery at the hands of the Spanish authorities, wrongs for which he had in vain sought reparation at Madrid. He therefore conceived himself--and in this belief he was confirmed by a chaplain of his fleet--to be fully entitled to exact on his own account the reparation which was refused him by the Spanish Government; and it is to be noted that he sought simply reparation, and that he is, throughout his career, entirely exempt from charges of cruelty and of wanton depredation.

Hawkins and Drake were self-made men. They each rose to the rank of admiral from the manly class which furnishes our seamen before the mast. Raleigh, on the other hand, although not of aristocratic birth, and although not, strictly speaking, a seaman by profession, yet did almost everything towards the formation of the aristocratic element in our navy. It was the gifted favourite of Elizabeth who induced many a youth of the highest social circles to seek for distant ventures, and who thus created the tradition by which the noblest families of England, from that of the Queen downwards, devote one of their sons to the same toils, perils, and honours which, in degree, befall all ranks of our navy. Raleigh was ambitious for his country, for which, with prophetic vision, he foresaw its place as Mistress of the Deep. With the famous patent granted to him on March 25, 1584, to search out and take possession of new lands in the western hemisphere, we have only to deal in so far as it concerns _Guyana_.

[Sidenote: 1595.]

Raleigh had already led the way to the planting of the English race in North America; he next directed his speculations towards the southern hemisphere, and projected an expedition to _Guyana_. As a preliminary measure he despatched a barque, under Captain Whiddon, to survey the coast of that portion of South America. The object he had in view was to explore and subdue _Guyana_, for the sake of the riches which it was supposed to possess. With a fleet of five ships, and with a gallant company of gentlemen, he sailed from Plymouth on the 6th of February 1595, and reached the Island of _Trinidad_, where he destroyed the new city of _San Jose_. There leaving his ships, he proceeded with barges, boats, and launches to explore the outlets of the _Orinoco_.

He toiled up the network of streams, through tropical thunder, lightning, and rain. He beheld the great river swelling like a sea between masses of luxuriant vegetation, profuse in tropical fruits and flowers, and looked down upon from a huge height by the snow-clad _Andes_ and by the _Condor_; but he saw no gold, nor did he discover any mines. The setting-in of the rainy season put a period to his explorations; and, leaving behind him a man and a boy to serve as interpreters on his return, he set sail for England, taking with him a young _Cacique_.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: 1616.]

Long years were to elapse before Sir Walter Raleigh again hoisted his flag on the Atlantic. When he did so, a new order of things had arisen in England, since thirteen years before he had been committed to the Tower, from which he emerged on the 19th of March 1616. The destination of the squadron which he now organized was again _Guyana_. A hundred noblemen and gentlemen hastened to join the standard of the renowned commander, whilst there was no lack of mariners eager to serve under an admiral whose capacity has never been exceeded by any one in the long list of our naval heroes.

On the 11th of November 1617, Raleigh, now sixty-five years of age, reached _Guyana_, after a voyage which was in every way disastrous, and which had left himself in impaired health and the force at his command in diminished strength. His spirit, however, was still sanguine, as he drifted towards the _Orinoco_ between the islands, in one of which is laid the scene of “Robinson Crusoe.” On reaching the river, it was found impossible for the larger vessels, including Raleigh’s own ship, the “Destiny,” to cross the bar, and as he was in too enfeebled a condition to lead the expedition inland in person, he had to relinquish the command to another, whilst he himself remained cruising between the _Orinoco_ and _Trinidad_, being so weak that he had to be carried about in a chair.

Meanwhile, a considerable force ascended the river, under Captain Kemys and Sir Walter’s son. _Guyana_ certainly belonged to England, if to any foreign nation, since on the occasion of Raleigh’s former expedition the _Caciques_, who had welcomed him as their deliverer from their Spanish neighbours, had declared their allegiance to England. But during his long absence Spanish settlements had been formed in the country.

Kemys proceeded up the _Orinoco_, his orders being to make for the mines without offering molestation; but if he were attacked he was to repel force by force. When encamped for the night half-way to the mines, he was set upon by the Spaniards, who hoped to take him by surprise, but who were repulsed, and who retreated, closely pursued by young Raleigh, who fell in the pursuit. The existence of mines was, however, proved, since four gold refineries were found in _San Pome_.

But Kemys had lost heart. The passes were in the hands of Spaniards, as were the forests and the banks of the streams, so that his followers were constantly shot down by unseen enemies. Returning, therefore, down the river, he rejoined his chief, with what was literally a sentence of death to the latter. Kemys could not bear his friend’s reproaches, and, in utter despair, he took his own life.

Four months later Raleigh was again in England, and on the 28th of October of the same year he expiated on Tower Hill his want of success; the illustrious victim being offered up by the contemptible James as a sacrifice to the implacable vengeance of Spain.

NOTE.--Chapter XVII. is founded on

“Life of Sir John Hawkins,” by Samuel Johnson, 2nd edition, 1787.

“Hawkins, (Sir John). Two Voyages made to the West Indies,”
Hakluyt, III.

“Sir Francis Drake; The World Encompassed” (Hakluyt Society). 1854.

“Voyages of Drake;” Hakluyt, II. IV.; Purchas, I. IV.

“Life of Drake,” by Barrow.

“Raleigh (Sir Walter); Discovery of Guiana” (Hakluyt Society).
1848.

“Discovery of Guiana,” by Musham (Hakluyt, II.).

“Life of Sir Walter Raleigh,” by James Augustus St. John. 1868.